On The Record – Brief Habits

Brisbane’s Brief Habits recently announced the release of, and launched pre-orders for their debut album which is set to be released via independent label, Hobbledehoy Records in mid-late March.

Numbers are limited if you want to grab the vinyl, you can see the options and secure yours [Here].

Having spent over a decade slaving away in and around both the local punk and indie-rock scenes of Brisbane; brothers Dan and Steve Rogan alongside Drummer Elliott Fuller and Bassist Luke Martin developed Brief Habits – the umbrella for a sound that marries all the complexities of the alternative music they love and enjoy with insightful, often brave, lyrical content.

You can catch the band supporting Ceres, Jess Locke and PLTS at Crowbar in Fortitude Valley on 11th March.

To find out more about the album, the band took the time to answer our On The Record questions. Listen to a couple of tracks while reading their answers, then head off and pre-order a copy!

LISTEN

ON THE RECORD INTERVIEW

Tell us about the release title.
“Brief Habits” is a Nietzsche concept that to me; applies really well to song writing and creating music. It’s difficult to explain in so many words but I recommend reading the passage in one of his works, Joyful Wisdom/Gay Science, for a better understanding. If not it’s a bloody great piece of writing it sounds cool as a band name anyway!

Tell us about the artwork.
The front of the cover features my beagle, Lennon. Tom (Hobbledehoy) took on a simple concept we had and made it look awesome! Lennon sadly passed a few short months before the songs to this record started coming together – and there is a song written for him on the album. Thought it’d be a special way to pay homage to the little ratbag.

What format/s will it be released on and how will it be packaged?
We’re pressing a sky blue vinyl and a standard black vinyl along with releasing it digitally.

Who will it be released through, and when?
Hobbledehoy Records! March 13th Digital/March 23rd Vinyl.

Tell us about the studio and why you chose to record there?
We leased an industrial shed in the suburbs of north Brisbane. Not really a conventional studio but it has a little office where we set up all the recording equipment and turned into a sort of ‘home’. We wanted to record in a large shed for its natural reverb, that ‘real’ sound that can be hard to capture. And there was plenty of extra space for quite a lot of cricket!

Tell us about the producer / engineer and why you chose to record with them?
Elliott (drums) did all the engineering, he’s super into that side of the music. He does a great job and is always striving for a better sound, he’s never super-happy with the outcome but that is often a positive when it comes to getting recordings just right. We produced the album ourselves to best capture our own sound and then we sent it to the legendary J Robbins to be mixed, who can do no wrong, in our eyes.

Did you go into the writing process with a clear direction in mind?
It was more a process of starting to record without any material, aside for a few ideas. We had the space so there wasn’t any time restrictions or financial obligations. It gave us a lot of freedom to start a song out from scratch and see it right through to the end.

Were you listening to anything in particular during the writing / recording process that influenced the songs at all?
Not really. Listening to music is a part of our everyday lives but I can’t really say anything directly affected it.

Were there any albums you were referencing in the studio to aim for a certain type of sound production wise?
We referenced a few other bands we like for bass tones and the like at one point but we basically attacked the album with free range.

How long did you spend in the studio recording?
We spent about six months in the shed, mostly recording at night after work or over a few long weekends.

LISTEN

Tell us a little about the recording process the band used?
We kept it straight forward and simple. We would jam one song while recording, play it back and critique. The songs would take shape from there… a few examples; ‘Lennon’s Song’ started with the full band playing but we ended up stripping it back and reworked it with a piano intro whereas ‘A Defining Commitment’ was written in one sitting.

Was this any different to previous processes you have used?
We didn’t feel bound or restricted by anything this time. Just writing the songs with a clear head and not really thinking of where they were going but finding out where they would end up.

Any guests involved? if so, who.. and what did they do?
I guess you could say Steve (guitar) mostly played a guest role. He only turned up if there were cold beers or cricket to be played!

When it comes do naming the tracks, is there any particular approach or process to it all?
They’re mostly philosophical concepts or book titles.

Any particular equipment outside your usual live gear used in the process?
We added a few layers to the record we won’t be reproducing live – piano, glockenspiel, extra guitars.

Any memorable studio moments?
Sometimes Steve would turn up, walk straight to up to the cricket bat and start moving the mics and gear to clear the cricket pitch. All show though as he was hopeless to my in-swinger.

Any additional tracks recorded that didn’t make the cut but may see the light of day sometime?
A song called ‘In-itself/For-itself’ was written but never really fit anywhere on the album.

What track/s are you most looking forward to playing live?
All of them really! But I think Either/Or will be up there!

How would you compare the final product to previous releases?
You could say compared to the releases of our previous bands, this album has had a great feeling from the get-go and throughout the entire process. Everything was well thought out in terms of arrangements and a lot of thought was given to how everything would sit together as a conceptual whole.

Anything else you want to say or about the release?
We are super proud of this record & extremely honoured to have Hobbledehoy take us under their wing. Also thanks to you – Bomber, for helping us get the word out about it, ya’ legend!

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